


After the Rain

by Emerald Embers (emeraldembers)



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hand Jobs, Hot Tub, Hot Tub Sex, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-21 21:34:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11953089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emeraldembers/pseuds/Emerald%20Embers
Summary: Baze has depression, and while Chirrut knows he can’t fix this, he knows taking Baze out on one of his better days for a frolic in a hot tub won’t hurt matters.





	After the Rain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rockcandyshrike](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rockcandyshrike/gifts).



> This fic was written for the dailyspiritassassin exchange, for the simple but sweet prompt "Baze and Chirrut fuck in a hot tub". The original draft was a hot mess but had some ideas I liked - this is the belated, bettered, and beta-ed version (with thanks to Nyx Midnight and only-1-a, you utter legends).

Baze’s hair was filthy.

The fact it was filthy was no real surprise. Chirrut could not remember the last time Baze had showered, and deodorising powders could only do so much when masking Baze’s scent.

It wasn’t idleness or a disregard for hygiene that kept Baze from showering, but the same illness that had bound Baze to their quarters for days at a time, practically rendered mute by his suffering. Sickness of the mind could be as cruel as sickness anywhere else in the body, and Chirrut's help could only go so far.

Times like this had been part of Chirrut’s life with Baze for as long as they had known each other; times when the lessons passed down by masters, and tinctures brewed from the temple’s garden were not enough to soothe Baze’s wounds. Even Chirrut’s hands, lovingly tending to sore muscles or tangled braids, were not enough.

Baze’s worst enemy was not something Chirrut could fight with his fists, no matter how hard he trained, but Chirrut had endurance as well as strength, and meant to wait out each episode at Baze’s side for as long as Baze would let him.

 

Easier days with the illness were marked by Baze talking without being prompted, bad days by fits of anger followed by crushing sorrow or stubborn silence. After two easy days in a row, Chirrut knew it was time to make Baze wash with him, for his health alone if nothing else.

Bringing up Baze’s need to wash without wounding his pride could be tricky, but luck in the timing of Baze’s better days and Jedha’s fleeting wet season had created a perfect opportunity for Chirrut to exploit.

The flash floods had been kind this year, filling reservoirs in the city and its outskirts to the point of spilling, and several tourist hotspots had taken advantage of the waters to provide facilities Jedha could rarely afford.

Hot tubs were a rare luxury on Jedha, but Chirrut saw no harm in making use of them while they were available. All wastewater would find its way to farmland in the end, and Chirrut had friends enough to gain cheap access to such facilities when the floods had been generous.

That Baze would accompany him went without saying. Where Chirrut walked, Baze followed, and this had been understood long before their relationship turned romantic.

 

“You didn’t have to do this,” Baze said, the powdery scent of soap leaf pouring off him as Chirrut rinsed it from his hair.

“What fun would it be if I needed to?” Chirrut asked, combing through the wet locks with his fingers to make sure they were free of lather and tangles. Washing in preparation for use of the hot tub was a matter of courtesy as well as hygiene, and Chirrut was glad of the excuse to get his hands on Baze.

Not that he needed one, but he was glad to have it nonetheless.

“You feel presentable,” Chirrut said, resting his hands on Baze’s waist and pressing a quick kiss to his shoulder. “How do we look?”

“Wet,” Baze said, straightening up and taking hold of Chirrut’s wrist. “Lead the way.”

 

It was a short walk through the inn’s corridor to the room with the hot tub, short enough that Chirrut opted for holding a towel over his groin rather than wrapping it around his waist. He dropped it gladly as soon as he heard the door close behind him, enjoying the alien cling of humidity to his skin.

“There’s no lock.”

“I don’t care,” Chirrut said cheerily, walking over to the hot tub with carefully extended hands and smiling when he found its edges. “Do you? Help me in.”

There was a hushed sound as Baze dropped his own towel, then Baze pressed up against him from behind, skin hot and sweat-sticky. “You asked.”

Chirrut squawked as he was lifted and dunked without ceremony into the tub, and glared in what he hoped was Baze’s direction once he’d surfaced and found a seat. “Found your sense of humour?” Chirrut muttered, listening as Baze climbed in.

Baze grunted in agreement before climbing into Chirrut’s lap, clutching his head in both hands. “Here it is.”

“Your sense of humour?”

“The reason I laugh,” Baze said, snorting at his own joke, and Chirrut couldn’t help but laugh in turn, wrapping his arms around Baze’s waist loosely as Baze did the same.

The laughter settled into a not quite comfortable silence, and Chirrut chose to break it first. “I’ve missed this.”

“I know,” Baze said, his hands warm and heavy on Chirrut’s back, and Chirrut tilted his head up for a kiss.

Chirrut hadn’t intended much by it, but after sharing a relatively chaste peck, Baze kissed him again, open-mouthed, and Chirrut was happy to respond in kind.

Baze’s hands were greedier than his mouth, moving quickly to grab Chirrut’s ass, and Chirrut smiled at the contradiction. Baze rarely sought out Chirrut’s tongue unless Chirrut had first toyed with his, but his hands rarely needed that same, unspoken prompt.

“You want my hands on you?” Chirrut asked when they took a moment to breathe, forehead to forehead and belly to belly, unable to get enough of each other.

The treatments for Baze’s condition sometimes left him unable to take pleasure from Chirrut, though he rarely hesitated to give it if Chirrut asked, and it was both flattering and a relief for Chirrut to feel Baze stir under his touch. The feel of him swelling, growing hard and rocking into Chirrut’s touch, was something Chirrut would never tire of; the sounds Baze made as Chirrut stroked him were a pleasing bonus.

“This is your fault,” Baze panted as he closed a hand over Chirrut’s own, bracing himself against the hot tub’s edge with the other.

“I should be ashamed of myself,” Chirrut deadpanned before kissing him again, feeling a smile on Baze’s lips that mirrored his own. It didn’t matter much that his own erection was unattended. Not when it had been weeks since he’d last heard Baze’s breathing grow ragged and desperate, since he’d last felt Baze rocking against him, thighs trembling with exertion.

“Chirrut,” Baze said, “I -”

That was as much warning as Chirrut got before Baze shuddered against him and came with a low grunt, the slick texture quickly washing away to nothing in the water, and Chirrut brought both hands up to Baze’s shoulders, drawing him close while his breathing settled.

“You can sleep if you want to,” Chirrut said, curling Baze’s hair loosely around his fingers. “I booked an hour.”

 

The quiet as they dried and dressed each other afterwards was the sort Chirrut wished he could live in always, tender and weighted with affection.

He let his hands speak for him, catching Baze’s face between them and tracing over his features, mapping out the ways relaxation had smoothed them soft.

Kind eyes under a thoughtful brow, soft cheeks and softer lips, and Chirrut kissed each in turn, finished by nipping Baze’s nose.

“Troublemaker,” Baze muttered.

“Fool,” Chirrut countered, and hugged him tight, enjoying the moment of peace while it lasted.

Those moments seemed to come fewer and farther between as of late, but they were still worth fighting for, would always be worth fighting for. _Baze_ was worth fighting for.

Baze was worth everything.


End file.
